i've had my butt kicked too by higher lv thieves but that never stopped me. You find lot of weaker lv thieves on horses. Its pretty even i guess, although there are many more thieves then hunters.
I did do a few 1 star trades, then i also had a few ppl to 2star but they took the longest way possible
I attacked every thief i saw, because if it was a low lv i won. Where as, if it were a stronger/higher lv thief, i would die anyways if we crossed paths.